Prevalence of Bullying in Grassroots Soccer in Spain: Victims, Bullies, and Bystanders

Abstract

Bullying is a social problem that has been studied most in schools but affects other social contexts. However, there is a general lack of studies on bullying in sports. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of bullying among youth soccer players. Participants were 1,980 soccer players (88.2% boys) aged 8 to 13 years (Mage = 10.5, SD = 1.68) from 25 clubs in Catalonia, Spain. An ad hoc questionnaire was administered to analyze the prevalence and characteristics of bullying from the perspective of victims, bullies, and bystanders. The overall bullying victimization rate was 8.9%, with higher rates observed in the younger categories (p